[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (2000, Book I)]
[June 13, 2000]
[Page 1138]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Statement on Senate Action on Legislation To Establish a National
Drunk Driving Standard
June 13, 2000

    I applaud the Senate Appropriations Committee for passing an 
important amendment that will help put the brakes on drunk driving 
across the country. I strongly support Senator Lautenberg's amendment that would help create a national standard 
for impaired driving of .08 blood alcohol content (BAC). This is a 
reasonable, commonsense standard that could save an estimated 500 lives 
a year, while still permitting adults to drink responsibly and 
moderately.
    Together, we have made great progress on reducing drunk driving in 
America. In 1999 the number of people killed in alcohol-related crashes 
hit a record low. But we still lose far too many American lives to drunk 
drivers: one American is killed in an alcohol-related crash every 33 
minutes. Over 15,700 Americans lost their lives in alcohol-related 
crashes in 1999 alone. We simply must do more.
    Senator Lautenberg's .08 BAC 
legislation will help build on our efforts to keep drunk drivers off our 
streets. I commend Senator Lautenberg for his continued leadership in 
this area, and Transportation Subcommittee Chairman Shelby for including this bipartisan, life-saving 
amendment in the FY 2001 Transportation Appropriations bill that passed 
in the full Appropriations Committee today. I urge the Congress to act 
quickly to pass this legislation to save more lives by making .08 BAC 
the legal limit across the country and without further delay.